2018-19Regular SeasonRound 24
FC Barcelona Lassa 77
Real Madrid 70
March 01, 2019 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 PALAU BLAUGRANA

Barcelona stops Madrid on Navarro's special night

FC Barcelona Lassa recorded its fourth consecutive win by downing archrival Real Madrid 77-70 in an emotional night at Palau Blaugrana that started with legend Juan Carlos Navarro's jersey retirement ceremony. Barcelona improved to a 15-9 record to strengthen its fifth-place standing. Madrid dropped to 18-6 and remains third overall. Ante Tomic led the winners with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Thomas Heurtel added 17 points and 10 assists while Kyle Kuric had 15 points for Barcelona. Rudy Fernandez led Madrid with 15 points. Anthony Randolph added 12 while Jaycee Carroll had 10 for the guests. Madrid led 16-17 after 10 minutes but Kuric and Tomic gave Barcelona a 42-37 margin at halftime. Barcelona scored the first 8 points after the break, too, and never looked back, keeping full control of the game until the final buzzer.

Randolph got Madrid going with a three-pointer and then free throws by Gabriel Deck gave the visitors a 0-5 lead. Heurtel stepped up with a triple, a jumper and a floater to seize the upper hand for Barcelona, 7-5. Edy Tavares scored down low, Randolph added a fastbreak layup, and Fabien Causeur hit a floater as Madrid took the lead back at 8-11. Pau Ribas buried a running floater and Kevin Seraphin added a jump hook, but a dunk by Gustavo Ayon tied it at 13-13. Kevin Pangos and Ribas hit free throws but back-to-back baskets by Carroll put Madrid in charge, 16-17, after 10 minutes. Carroll and Fernandez each struck from beyond the arc in a 0-8 run that put Madrid up 18-25 early in the second quarter. Although Tomic hit a jump hook, Carroll and Fernandez boosted the guests' lead to 21-29. Tomic rescued Barcelona with three inside baskets, forcing Madrid to call timeout at 28-29. Jeffery Taylor dunked for the visitors before Kuric followed a floater with a triple for a 33-31 Barcelona lead. Tomic, Heurtel and Pierre Oriola would soon boost Barcelona's margin to 39-33. Kuric hit a three-pointer but Tavares and Randolph kept Madrid within 42-37 at halftime. Kuric followed a fastbreak slam with a layup after the break, and a jump hook by Tomic made it a double-digit game, 48-37. Heurtel hit a jumper but Sergio Llull and Fernandez led a 0-6 run that gave Madrid hope at 50-43. Randolph buried his trademark corner triple while Kevin Pangos and Llull also struck from beyond the arc as Barcelona clung to a 56-51 advantage after 30 minutes. A wild dunk by Claver and free throws by Ribas and Heurtel allowed Barcelona to restore a 61-51 lead early in the fourth quarter. Carroll and Felipe Reyes tried to change things for Madrid but a jumper by Chris Singleton and a three-pointer by Heurtel broke the game open, 67-54. Fernandez followed a driving layup with a triple but Singleton and Tomic kept Barcelona way ahead, 71-59, with 3 minutes left. Fernandez insisted from downtown and Llull hit free throws as Madrid climbed within 71-64, but Barcelona stayed calm and cruised to a well-deserved win.

Pivotal performer

Kuric was the x-factor, hitting shots big shots when Barelona was struggling in the second quarter. He finished the game with 15 points on 3-of-4 two-point shots, 2-of-3 three-pointers and 3-of-4 free throws for a PIR of 15, all in just 17 minutes off the bench.

Game-changing moment

Madrid led 21-29 midway through the second quarter when Tomic scored three times in the paint to ignite Barcelona's comeback. He got help from Kuric, who hit a floater and a couple of three-pointers. Barcelona's defense excelled in a 21-6 run that allowed the hosts to get the lead for good, 42-35, near halftime.

Stellar stat

Barcelona heavily outrebounded Barcelona by 43-32, pulling down 14 offensive boards. It also limited Madrid to just 12 assists, tying its season-low, and forced the guests into 17 turnovers.

Did you notice?

It was Barcelona's first EuroLeague win against Madrid since the new format was chosen three years ago. Madrid had won its last five EuroLeague showdowns against Barcelona, being particularily good at Palau Blaugrana: 74-101 in 2017-18 and 63-102 in the 2016-17 season.

Next game:

In Round 25 next week, Madrid hosts Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on Thursday in a rematch of last season's championship game. Barcelona visits Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Friday in a critical battle for home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Thomas Heurtel - FC Barcelona Lassa - EB18
Friday, March 1, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: BOLTAUZER, MATEJ; BELOSEVIC, ILIJA; MOGULKOC, EMIN
Attendance: 7311
By Quarter1234
FC Barcelona Lassa16261421
Real Madrid17201419
End of Quarter1234
FC Barcelona Lassa16425677
Real Madrid17375170
FC Barcelona Lassa
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 SERAPHIN, KEVIN 5:48 3 1/3   1/2 2 1 3     2 1   3 1  
3 PANGOS, KEVIN 15:59 5 0/3 1/3 2/2           2     4 2 -4
5 RIBAS, PAU 18:18 5 1/2 0/1 3/5 1 2 3   2 2     1 4 7
6 SINGLETON, CHRIS 30:25 4 2/3 0/2   2 7 9   2 2 1   2 1 10
8 HANGA, ADAM 18:36   0/2 0/4   1 2 3 1 1 3   1 3 3 -5
9 BLAZIC, JAKA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 HEURTEL, THOMAS 24:01 17 4/5 2/3 3/6   3 3 10 1 3     2 6 27
14 PUSTOVYI, ARTEM DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
18 ORIOLA, PIERRE 14:06 2 1/1       2 2     1     2   1
24 KURIC, KYLE 17:20 15 3/4 2/3 3/4       1   1       3 15
30 CLAVER, VICTOR 25:46 4 1/2 0/2 2/2   3 3 2 1 2 3   1 1 8
44 TOMIC, ANTE 29:41 22 9/16   4/6 5 8 13 3   1     3 3 28
Team           3 1 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 77 22/41 5/18 18/27 14 29 43 17 7 20 5 1 21 24 90
        53.7% 27.8% 66.7%
Head coach: PESIC, SVETISLAV
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 CAUSEUR, FABIEN 10:19 2 1/3 0/2         1 1 1   1 2 1 -3
3 RANDOLPH, ANTHONY 30:52 12 2/4 2/6 2/5 2 7 9 2   1 1 1   3 16
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 21:35 15 2/2 3/6 2/2       2   3     5 2 8
7 CAMPAZZO, FACUNDO 23:15 6 1/4 1/4 1/2   1 1 1 2 6   1 3 6 -1
9 REYES, FELIPE 9:08 4 2/4 0/1   3 2 5   2 2   1 1   4
14 AYON, GUSTAVO 19:16 4 2/3     1 3 4 1 1       1 4 12
20 CARROLL, JAYCEE 18:33 10 3/6 1/4 1/1 1   1 1         4 1 3
22 TAVARES, WALTER 20:44 4 2/2       5 5   1 1     3   6
23 LLULL, SERGIO 23:42 9 2/4 1/5 2/2       4 1 2     4 1 3
24 DECK, GABRIEL 13:10 2   0/2 2/2   2 2   1 1     2 2 2
25 PREPELIC, KLEMEN 3:34   0/1                   1     -2
44 TAYLOR, JEFFERY 5:52 2 1/1 0/1   1   1           1   1
Team           3 1 4               4
Totals 200:00 70 18/34 8/31 10/14 11 21 32 12 9 17 1 5 26 20 53
        52.9% 25.8% 71.4%
Head coach: LASO, PABLO

Head Coaches

PESIC, SVETISLAV
FC Barcelona Lassa
"I think we played an excellent game, because we played against Madrid, one of the best – maybe the best – but for sure one of the best offensive teams in Europe, with great individual talent, espeically on offense, excellent in transition. This is a team that plays transition and we were very, very good from the beginning until the end. We were consistnet, without ups and downs. If you see the official stats, they only made 4 points in transition and 4 in fast reaks, and only 3 points in on-on-one situations. The key of this game was our very good transition defense and responsibility in one-on-one defense against their best offensive players. We had consistency during the game. We played like a machine sometimes, especially on defense. We lacked a bit of concentration on offense, where with had 15 turnovers and 5 offensive fouls, but we controlled the boards, especially on offense, and this is what I like about the team. Not only did we win the game, but we hope to play many more games like that in the Spanish League and the EuroLeague. Congratulations to my players for their game tonight. I cannot find the words to congratulate my players for the way they played tonight. Some may think we play against Madria and it is always important. For us, this game was an important one to improve our place in the standings and try to make it to the playoffs."
LASO, PABLO
Real Madrid
"First of all, congratulations to Barcelona for the victory. We knew it was going to be a hard game. Barcelona is playing very well at home and we know they are playing hard to get to the playoffs. We knew from the beginning it was a hard game for us. I think we did a lot of good things, globally, but also made a lot of mistakes and they punished us. At the end of the game, we were able to fight back but we were always a little bit behind. I am not very happy, of course, because of the defeat, but we have to get some good points out of this game to learn for the future. We are still in the situation in which we are looking for the home-court advantage in the playoffs. We have six games left and have to keep fighting to get that position. There was a moment in the first half in which we played very well – controlling the boards, without turnovers, moving the ball well, hitting shots – and in that moment, we were dominating. They returned to the game taking advantage of our mistakes."

Players

CLAVER, VICTOR
FC Barcelona Lassa
"We knew that if we wanted to make Madrid feel uncomfortable, we had to stop their transition game and stop them from running, which is the best way they execute their offense. We managed to do that well, came out with the right mentality. They have a lot of talented players who can break the game at any time, but they were not able to do it. Juan Carlos Navarro and Felipe Reyes deserve all the respect they earned for so many years, giving everything for their clubs and for the sport we share. They have been friends for a lifetime and I am sure it was very special for Felipe to be at Juan Carlos's jersey retirement ceremony. They are like brothers, even when there is this rivalry between their teams."
SINGLETON, CHRIS
FC Barcelona Lassa
"I think we started off playing good defense and just competed all night, with loads of energy. We held them in transition, which was one of the big keys tonight. It is a good win, but we have six more games to go and we have to finish strong. We know it is going to be a battle and have to keep moving. Navarro's jersey ceremony was very big for FC Barcelona, in general. I am very happy for him, and for us."
TOMIC, ANTE
FC Barcelona Lassa
"A very important win today, especially in a game against Madrid. We all know what that game means for us, and especially in this situation in EuroLeague, when we are looking for fourth place. And with this win, we are one step closer to it."
HEURTEL, THOMAS
FC Barcelona Lassa
"We played a great game. In the first half, we were a little up and down. But in the second half, we covered it. In this gym, this Palau, we cannot lose at home. We have to keep the same intensity because next week we have a very important game against Efes. Our goal is to finish fourth, so we are going to try to keep going for it.""We played a great game. In the first half, we were a little up and down. But in the second half, we covered it. In this gym, this Palau, we cannot lose at home. We have to keep the same intensity because next week we have a very important game against Efes. Our goal is to finish fourth, so we are going to try to keep going for it."
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